This week’s report on Britain’s security from the Institute for Public Policy Research deserves to land with the impact of a bomb among the decision-makers of both major political parties. Neither party currently offers a credible vision for the nation’s defences, or acknowledges the brutality of the economic choices. Both Labour and the Tories merely promise a post-election defence review. This could scarcely be completed before 2011, delaying implementation for much longer.

This Westminster policy vacuum is exposed by the IPPR’s Shared Responsibilities: A National Security Strategy for the UK . It has been drafted by a commission of mandarins headed by Lords Ashdown, Robertson and Guthrie and Sir David Omand. Their views can scarcely be dismissed as those of mavericks. They propose a recasting of national strategy to address as an integrated whole problems of weapons procurement, counter-terrorism, energy security and alliance relationships. Today, responsibility is dispersed among government departments, some of whom seem barely to communicate.